It’s been a relatively quiet six months for San Diego County Supervisor Bill Horn.

After being re-elected in November, he’s continued his mantra of less government equals good government. With the county budget now passed, new political boundaries becoming clearer and the long-awaited general plan on the way, Horn reflected on the first half of his chairmanship in a recent interview at his downtown office. Here is a transcript of the conversation.

Question: How would you grade both yourself and your board in accomplishing the priorities set at the beginning of the year?

Answer: I would give us an A. Dealing with the budget problems of the state and federal government, this county has maintained its keel … We still have a AAA bond rating. I just heard there are only two counties now in the state that have that. Of course, we’ve probably had ours the longest. On budget and labor negotiations, most of the units have extended with the exception of a small group from SEIU. It’s unfortunate for them that they’ve brought in this national leadership. They are trying a tactic that doesn’t really work here. I would hate to see them get cut. At the same time, the reason they don’t have a contract is their own fault – not ours. We have some tough units that basically said in the beginning ‘We agree with you that the state is a mess. The economy is a mess. Let’s kick this off and see what we can get in three years.’ That’s important. You’ve got to remember the tax base, which is what I have to worry about. We’re going to lag the economy by two years. When the economy starts recovering, you’re going to see it’s going to take us two years to begin to recover like they have.

Q: The board is prepared to adopt a budget that assumes some state revenue that may not be there. You’ve been critical of the state but also said your colleagues were unlikely to backfill cuts. Has this picture become any clearer?

A: I think it’s a waiting game. We are required by law to have a budget at the end of (June) … We’ll have to make some adjustments once the state comes down with its final budget. I know the governor has hung a whole lot on this tax increase business. I honestly don’t think that will happen, but we have to be prepared to make whatever adjustments happen. We will do that as soon as we find out what the state budget is.

Q: Are there any areas that concern you more than others?

A: Probation concerns me a lot. The fact that now they are going to have gang members on probation who are under electronic surveillance with the ankle bracelets taken off. The total cost savings is $6 million. To reprosecute those guys after they commit another crime is going to cost far more than $6 million. I really think that those (state) folks are way off base. I realize it’s a political statement, but the probationers are a real problem, especially those that are gangbangers. I think we need to keep track of them.